Back to Front and Upside Down

10 best books like Back to Front and Upside Down (Claire Alexander): Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, The Deaf Musicians, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, City Dog, Country Frog, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, The Rough Patch, Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear, Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille, Silent Days, Silent Dreams, The Monkey Goes Bananas

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Author

Laurie Ann Thompson

Genre: Biography, picture book
Recommended Grade Levels: K-3
Themes: Perseverance, empowerment, disabilities
Summary:
This is a true story about a boy named Emmanuel, who was born in a small village in Ghana, West Africa. Emmanuel was born with one healthy leg and one leg that...

The Deaf Musicians

Author

Pete Seeger

Poor Lee! He used to be a jazzman who could make the piano go yimbatimba- TANG—zang-zang. But now he's lost his hearing, and the bandleader had to let him go. So Lee goes to a school for the deaf to learn sign language. There, he meets Max, who used to play the sax. Riding the subway to class, they start signing...

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

Author	Dan Santat
ISBN	0316199982

This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and-at long last-is given...

City Dog, Country Frog

Author	Mo Willems
ISBN	1423103009

In spring, when City Dog runs free in the country for the first time, he spots Country Frog sitting on a rock, waiting for a friend. "You'll do," Frog says, and together they play Country Frog games. In summer, they meet again and play City Dog games. Through the seasons, whenever City Dog visits the...

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

Author	Jen Bryant
ISBN	0375867120

As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw: He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor. He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during WWI, Horace filled...

The Rough Patch

Author	Brian Lies
ISBN	0062671278

Evan and his dog do everything together, from eating ice cream to caring for their award-winning garden, which grows big and beautiful. One day the unthinkable happens: Evan’s dog dies. Heartbroken, Evan destroys the garden and everything in it. The ground becomes overgrown with prickles and thorns,...

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear

Author	Lindsay Mattick
ISBN	0316324906

Before there was Winnie-the-Pooh, there was a real bear named Winnie. In 1914, during World War I, Captain Harry Colebourn, a Canadian veterinarian on his way to serve with cavalry units in Europe, rescued a bear cub in White River, Ontario. He named the bear Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg,...

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

Author	Jen Bryant
ISBN	0449813371

An inspiring picture-book biography of Louis Braille—a blind boy so determined to read that he invented his own alphabet.
 
Louis Braille was just five years old when he lost his sight. He was a clever boy, determined to live like everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to...

Silent Days, Silent Dreams

Author	Allen Say
ISBN	0545927617

James Castle was born two months premature on September 25, 1899, on a farm in Garden Valley, Idaho. He was deaf, mute, autistic, and probably dyslexic. He didn't walk until he was four; he would never learn to speak, write, read, or use sign language.

Yet, today Castle's artwork hangs in major...

The Monkey Goes Bananas

Author	C.P. Bloom
ISBN	1419708856

It’s time to go bananas!
A determined monkey spies a banana tree across the water. What happens next is an inventive romp, as the resourceful monkey attempts to grab a snack, with some hilarious consequences.
Full of energy, surprise, and strong visual storytelling, this practically wordless...

The Pirate of Kindergarten

Author	George Ella Lyon
ISBN	1416950249

Doubles are good for lots of things—double scoops of ice cream, double features at the movies. But double vision is NOT a good kind of double. In fact, it can make kindergarten kind of hard. Ginny sees double chairs at reading circle and double words in her books. She knows that only half of what she sees...